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Sirach 37 - Counsel and the Prayer for Truth

12 min read

A friend may speak warmly and still leave when trouble comes. An adviser may recommend the course that serves his own interest. Sirach 37 faces that painful possibility without teaching us to live behind a locked door. It shows what trustworthy counsel looks like: a person who keeps God’s commandments, bears the cost of friendship, and grieves when we fall. Above even this, it places prayer to the Most High for direction in truth.

Friendship That Survives Trouble (Sirach 37:1-6)

1 Every friend saith, I am his friend also: but there is a friend, which is only a friend in name. 2 Is it not a grief unto death, when a companion and friend is turned to an enemy? 3 O wicked imagination, whence camest thou in to cover the earth with deceit? 4 There is a companion, which rejoiceth in the prosperity of a friend, but in the time of trouble will be against him. 5 There is a companion, which helpeth his friend for the belly, and taketh up the buckler against the enemy. 6 Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches.

The opening distinguishes the name of friendship from its reality. A person can claim the title without carrying the loyalty it requires. Ben Sira takes betrayal seriously enough to compare its grief with death. That comparison gives dignity to a wound that is often dismissed: the loss is not only companionship, but also the safety of having trusted another with one’s life. The deceived person needs truth and consolation, not blame for having loved.

The companion described in verse 5 is more complicated than a simple false friend. He helps for the sake of food, yet also takes up a shield. Motives can be mixed even where an action is genuinely useful. Wisdom learns to recognize the difference between complete devotion and a relationship supported by advantage. It need not turn every imperfect kindness into hypocrisy. The question is whether friendship can grow beyond what one gets from it.

Verse 6 turns the scrutiny back upon the reader. Rather than merely detecting who might abandon us, we must remember friends when wealth makes us less dependent on them. A season of promotion, marriage, or public recognition can expose our own forgetfulness. Christ’s self-giving friendship in John 15:12-15 provides the Christian measure: the friend seeks the other’s good at cost to himself. Wise boundaries after betrayal can coexist with the refusal to become a betrayer.

Counsel Beneath the Prayer for Truth (Sirach 37:7-15)

7 Every counsellor extolleth counsel; but there is some that counselleth for himself. 8 Beware of a counsellor, and know before what need he hath; for he will counsel for himself; lest he cast the lot upon thee, 9 and say unto thee, Thy way is good: and afterward he stand on the other side, to see what shall befall thee. 10 Consult not with one that suspecteth thee: and hide thy counsel from such as envy thee. 11 Neither consult with a woman touching her of whom she is jealous; neither with a coward in matters of war; nor with a merchant concerning exchange; nor with a buyer of selling; nor with an envious man of thankfulness; nor with an unmerciful man touching kindness; nor with the slothful for any work; nor with an hireling for a year of finishing work; nor with an idle servant of much business: hearken not unto these in any matter of counsel. 12 But be continually with a godly man, whom thou knowest to keep the commandments of the Lord, whose mind is according to thy mind, and will sorrow with thee, if thou shalt miscarry. 13 And let the counsel of thine own heart stand: for there is no man more faithful unto thee than it; 14 for a man’s mind is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen, that sit above in an high tower. 15 And above all this pray to the most High, that he will direct thy way in truth.

An adviser may praise advice while quietly arranging an outcome in his own favor. Verses 8-9 picture the cruelty of encouraging a risky course and then standing safely aside to watch what happens. Before accepting counsel, Ben Sira asks us to notice what the adviser needs. This is especially useful when advice concerns money, employment, a marriage conflict, or the interests of a ministry. Expertise deserves attention, but expertise does not remove a conflict of interest.

Verse 11 gives a long list of compromised advisers. The jealous woman is named in relation to the person of whom she is jealous; the merchant and buyer have an interest in the transaction; the unmerciful person cannot guide a work of kindness. The principle is distorted judgment, not contempt for women or workers. Women are not less capable of wisdom, and paid work is not a moral defect. The surrounding examples expose the same problem in many people: a passion or advantage can bend counsel away from another’s good.

The trustworthy counselor of verse 12 is recognizable by a life shaped by the commandments and a willingness to sorrow with the person who falls. Agreement of mind means a shared commitment to faithfulness, not a requirement that a counselor always agree with us. Proverbs 11:14 and Proverbs 15:22 commend many counselors; Sirach asks us to consider their character. The counsel of one’s own heart in verses 13-14 also has its place. A conscience should not be surrendered to another person’s domination. Yet conscience itself needs repentance, formation, and correction. A strong inward conviction can contain fear, vanity, or wishful thinking.

The final verse gathers these human helps beneath prayer. Direction in truth is more than the successful completion of a plan. We are asking God to reveal what is right even when it disappoints our preference. A father of confession, a mature friend, and a qualified professional may help in distinct ways; spiritual care does not replace legal or medical expertise. In every case, counsel serves a person accountable before the living God. Prayer keeps both adviser and hearer from pretending to be that person’s lord.

Gems from the Fathers 💎

Saint Basil the Great, discussing disputes within a monastic community, makes competent counsel a service of the common good. His concern is that people learn to ask and listen without rancor rather than win by force of speech. He describes those able to contribute by “disputing reasonably and without rancor and by listening intelligently”.1 This is a thematic witness, not commentary on Sirach 37. It illuminates the chapter’s contrast between counsel that protects another person and speech that merely secures one’s own position.

Wisdom That Reaches Its Teacher (Sirach 37:16-26)

16 Let reason go before every enterprize, and counsel before every action. 17 The countenance is a sign of changing of the heart. 18 Four manners of things appear: good and evil, life and death: but the tongue ruleth over them continually. 19 There is one that is wise and teacheth many, and yet is unprofitable to himself. 20 There is one that sheweth wisdom in words, and is hated: he shall be destitute of all food. 21 For grace is not given him from the Lord; because he is deprived of all wisdom. 22 Another is wise to himself; and the fruits of understanding are commendable in his mouth. 23 A wise man instructeth his people; and the fruits of his understanding fail not. 24 A wise man shall be filled with blessing; and all they that see him shall count him happy. 25 The days of the life of man may be numbered; but the days of Israel are innumerable. 26 A wise man shall inherit glory among his people, and his name shall be perpetual.

Reason and counsel are to precede action. This simple order interrupts the habit of deciding first and seeking approval afterward. A changing expression can reveal a heart in motion, and the tongue can carry decisions toward good or evil, life or death. The passage is concerned with the entire person: thought, desire, speech, and action must come into agreement. A well-argued explanation cannot by itself make an unexamined motive wise.

The teacher who helps many while remaining unprofitable to himself is one of the chapter’s most searching figures. Correct words can pass through a life without governing it. A person may teach repentance while refusing to apologize at home, explain generosity while withholding wages, or counsel peace while enjoying quarrels. Verse 21 speaks severely of absent grace and wisdom. It should not be used to diagnose God’s rejection of a struggling or unpopular teacher. In the sequence, the warning concerns wisdom reduced to performance. The grace of God is a gift to be received in repentance, not a skill made available by eloquence.

The fruitful teacher, by contrast, feeds a people. His understanding does not disappear with a successful talk; it bears fruit in those entrusted to him. The contrast between countable human days and Israel’s enduring life places teaching within a community larger than any individual. This humbles the desire to be indispensable. A servant’s best legacy is often that others can pray, discern, and obey after his own voice is no longer present.

Know What Harms Your Soul (Sirach 37:27-31)

27 My son, prove thy soul in thy life, and see what is evil for it, and give not that unto it. 28 For all things are not profitable for all men, neither hath every soul pleasure in every thing. 29 Be not insatiable in any dainty thing, nor too greedy upon meats: 30 for excess of meats bringeth sickness, and surfeiting will turn into choler. 31 By surfeiting have many perished; but he that taketh heed prolongeth his life.

Ben Sira now asks for personal knowledge: discover what is harmful and cease feeding it. The observation that one thing does not profit everyone prevents spiritual discipline from becoming a contest of identical performances. Food is the immediate subject. Excess can make the body ill, while attention and moderation protect it. The ancient description of surfeiting and bodily disturbance is a warning against excess, not a complete medical account of disease.

The same discernment helps Christian fasting. A rule is received within the Church, yet its application must consider illness, pregnancy, age, eating disorders, and other actual needs with appropriate pastoral and medical guidance. The person who requires food or medication is not less faithful. Fasting serves freedom to love God and the neighbor, rather than mastery over a body treated as an enemy. For some, the first obedient restraint is refusing another portion; for others it is refusing the compulsion to restrict. The chapter’s prayer for truth reaches even the habits we are most tempted to hide.

Spiritual Fruit 🍇

Become the friend whose loyalty has a cost. Verse 6 asks us to remember a friend when prosperity makes forgetfulness easy. Contact one person who supported you before a change in your circumstances. Ask about that person’s actual burden and offer something concrete: time, practical help, or a faithful visit. Avoid making the conversation a report of your own success. Gratitude protects friendship from quietly becoming a transaction in which other people matter only when we need them.

Ask for unwelcome truth. Before an important decision, write down the outcome you secretly hope an adviser will approve. Then seek counsel from someone with no advantage to gain from that outcome and enough love to disagree. Pray the petition of verse 15 before the conversation. This makes room for grace to loosen the grip of fear or ambition. Wise counsel should increase your freedom to obey Christ, not create dependence upon a person’s permission for every ordinary choice.

Let one teaching examine its teacher. Choose a truth you have recently explained to a child, a friend, or a class. Look for the place where your own conduct most needs it. If you have taught patience, consider your speech when interrupted. If you have commended honesty, examine a delayed payment or a convenient exaggeration. Bring the discrepancy to confession and take one reparative step. The discovery of inconsistency can become a beginning of repentance rather than an excuse to stop serving.

Learn moderation without contempt for the body. Notice one habit that leaves you less able to pray or love: an excess of food, scrolling, argument, or work without rest. Choose a small, sustainable boundary and review its fruit after a week. Keep medical treatment and necessary nourishment intact. The goal is a freer heart, not a record to display. The Lord who directs our way in truth also knows our weakness. Before sleep, entrust to Him the decisions you cannot yet settle, and ask for enough light to take the next faithful step.

Footnotes

  1. Saint Basil the Great, The Long Rules, Question 49, Ascetical Works, trans. Sister M. Monica Wagner, Fathers of the Church 9 (1962 reprint), p. 327, edition scan, p. 327. ↩

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